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Stuttgart Airport Utilizes TYPO3 to Improve its Tour Management System and User Interface

Learn how TYPO3 can be used to enhance the experience of travelers and deliver stunning frontend outputs.

Employees
1001-5000
About
Business Services
Technology Focus
Website, Shop, Frontend User
Project Focus
Relaunch, Website, Webdesign

Introduction

The Stuttgart Airport is one of the busiest single-runway airports in Germany. Up to 50,000 arriving and departing passengers use Stuttgart Airport at peak times. As the airport operator Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH (FSG) creates the infrastructure - online and offline - for air traffic near the state capital of Baden-Württemberg.

Among the wide range of services offered at the airport, the airport tours are a popular attraction, allowing visitors to get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes in its day-to-day operations.

Improving User Experience with TYPO3

In 2019, the airport decided it was time to improve the user experience for visitors seeking to book a tour online, through the airport’s website, along with updating the existing administration interface to allow the airport’s tour staff the ability to more easily organize and administer tours, and implement new features. For this, the airport began a public tender to seek the right business partner for the project, ultimately selecting TYPO3 Official Partner Agency, b13.

Creating a Concept for the Future

Overhauling an existing system on this scale wasn’t an easy task. The large number of employees who need to access the backend for their day to day work, along with the customers continuing to make bookings, meant that a clear conceptual phase was important. Both to understand the actual needs and requirements of the administration tool and the consumer-facing side of the website. 

Improved Administration Tools and Booking System with TYPO3

The team at b13 worked alongside their partners from the Stuttgart Airport staff initially in a conceptual phase, defining workflows and creating a detailed concept in writing. 

Wireframes of the backend as well as a detailed design for the frontend website ensured that all requirements were represented in the new module of the website. This ensured that all needs and considerations were accounted for.

Strong communication between agency and client through a tight feedback loop throughout the development process meant that there was ample transparency at every stage of the project, to allow for alterations, or new ideas to shape the end product. 

Kicking off in late 2019, and with development beginning in early 2020, and testing running through September of 2021.

In October 2021, the new administration tool and booking system was launched for customers, marking the project’s successful completion. 

Enhanced Control, Transparency, and a Better User Experience

The most visible impact of the project was the improved user experience for visitors and customers to the airport tours domain. A user-friendly portal allowed for better ease of purchase, and the implementation of online payment (implemented in 2024) allowed for digital purchases, further improving the overall customer experience. 

Additionally, the administration of tours was also improved, featuring TYPO3 v12 which was implemented with close to zero bugs due to automated tests. This meant that the Stuttgart Airport staff could now use the backend to create new tours, benefit from user permissions including new admins and editors, which could easily be added to the new system. 

The flexibility of the new system, with it being more extensible and relying on a more modern version of TYPO3 and the system logic, applied by b13, means that the overall system is more easy to use for both customers and the airport tour team.

TYPO3 CMS For Tourism and Culture

Tourism and culture organizations require a scalable and stable CMS that allows for administrative control, while also being extensible and able to adapt to different markets. TYPO3 CMS for Tourism and Culture offers a number of functionalities that allow businesses in this space to engage with customers and deliver tangible results. 

TYPO3 is used across industries to support organizations with their digital transformation.

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